Cryoablation systems have been used to reduce, or even eliminate, undesired electrical activity between adjacent cardiac tissues of the heart (arrhythmias). One common type of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, is a result of abnormal electrical signals interfering with the normal electrical signal propagation along the tissues of the heart.
Atrial fibrillation often originates near the ostia of the pulmonary veins. Cryoablation systems can be used to form lesions on patient tissue in proximity to the ostia, where the pulmonary veins open into the left atrium of the heart. The cold-induced lesions can effectively block the initiation or propagation of the abnormal electrical signals, thereby preventing the abnormal electrical signals from interfering with the normal electrical signal propagation along the tissues of the heart.